Learning how to Live
by Shenhua the Knife Lady
Summary: She lived alone for many years as a feral child. Soon, she was discovered in her forest by several young men who led her to know who and what she is...and a family she never knew she had. The road to humanity is a long one, but with family who cares, that road gets shorter and learns how to live and be human. But will her case protect her from her destiny? Fem!Harry


The Girl in the Forest

She's a girl who's been alone for so long. All she knew is the forest. Trees, the forest floor, bugs, animals and birds.

But all of them left her alone.

More like, they feared her.

Every step she made hurt, but every injury she gets heals quickly in an instant. She never fell ill either.

She grew up alone and feral. She learned how to walk, run and leap on all fours, imitating mostly other animals. She tried to hunt for food by watching how, only to learn that raw, bloody meat, and eggs made her sick and puke it out. So her next option was fruits and nuts after watching birds and other animals eat them. Some are sweet, some are sour and some are tangy, but she liked them better. The problem was, they don't fill much. But it was better than nothing.

However, she saw bears catch fish...and the fish aren't bloody...somehow? Since meat with blood made her sick, what about fish?

Once the bears are gone, she went near the river to see that they left behind bones, head, tail and entrails. They were unwanted stuff.

So she caught fish with her bare hands and tore it apart, crying in pain when the fish bones pricked her, and quickly learned how to handle fish without getting hurt. And fish meat was better. It did not make her sick. So she lived off fruit and fish. And she learns as she goes with the knowledge somehow coming to her head. She learned how to live, how to hunt, where to go for food and water, what were the dangers of the forest and how to survive the various seasons. That, and she was different from them. Very different. She only has hair on her head and eyebrows while naked everywhere else. She also bleeds for three days every month and she didn't know why.

She didn't like it.

She didn't like being different as it means she didn't belong anywhere.

It made her feel so alone.

She took to killing animals for their skins and wear them in a bid to look like them. But the temporary furs did not last long. They rotted soon enough after a few weeks. Then by instinct, she knew that she has to dry the skins in the sun every summer after cleaning them. Once they were dry enough, she wears them and she was happy.

One day, when she was twelve years old, a group of men came to her forest.

They were like her. Only, they walk on two legs and wear very colorful furs...and leading scary beasts in long, shiny things. Out of curiosity, she went near stealthily. They were like her, but they can walk on two legs. So she tried pushing herself upright...in order to stand like them. She wobbled awkwardly and fell on her rear on her first few tries. But she felt that warmth on her body and she was soon able to stand. She walked like they did and followed them. But one of them saw her.

'Who's there?'

Huh? What was that? The sound they make? She took a peek from behind her tree and they approached her.

'Hey guys! We got a jungle girl here! What do we do?'

They sure make weird sounds, don't they? The man who approached her led her back to his companions.

xxx

'Good grief...are those _skins_ she's wearing?' one of the men wondered aloud.

'No shit Sherlock...who knows what skins are those though.' said another. 'Wonder how long she's been here. She's walking on all fours since she doesn't last long on two legs...and she's human!'

'I guess she saw us and tried to imitate us...but she's on all fours for years its not easy for the poor kid.'

'But hey, we gotta do something...she's mostly naked and I've seen enough breasts and ass in my girlfriend, she definitely does not know what underwear is and the way she sits, we've all seen plenty now.' he said sarcastically as the other men blushed beet red as they've seen a young girl naked with her legs spread open as she sat down, eating the food given to her in animalistic hunger. She just discovered what cooked meat is, and its delicious! She crawled to the fire for more before going off to the dragons.

'Hey! Stop that kid!'

'She's going near that Ridgeback!' they took out their wands and yanked her back by yelling out, 'Accio Jungle Girl!' and next thing she knew, she got pulled by unseen hands back to the men she was with. She was stunned and puzzled as she looked at the men who pulled her back without them touching her.

It was weird.

And scary.

'Oh crap, we scared her!' they did because she ran on all fours away from them, forcing them to stun her out cold. They then used the summoning spell again.

'Now what?' another man asked his company. 'She's damn fast on all fours.'

'We take her to the nearest hospital. Feral people ain't in our job scope dudes. Dragons is our job.'

xxx

Several hours later, in a hospital...the men put the Feral Girl they found in the hospital and reported her to authorities. The hospital nurses cleaned up and groomed the girl by spelling off dirt, grime, body hair and trimmed her finger and toenails as well as cleaning them before giving her a thorough bath. They also spelled off the hair on her head as they were incredibly unhealthy and tangled, full of lice. They cleaned up her scalp for what's left of lice and eggs, before making the unconscious feral girl swallow a bottled medicine that made her hair grow back healthy.

They took care of her teeth, too before putting her in hospital clothes and underwear.

Then they actually proceeded to scan her body for any other problems. The girl is physically fit and strong, discovered to be a witch as they found a magical core in her but her body is not accustomed to walking upright, and needed training. She also needs education and learning how to trust her kind. As far as the Feral Girl knows, she just heals quick and never gets sick. Her powers are mostly used to survive cold rains and winters, enabling her to hibernate.

However, this girl is no ordinary feral girl...for seeing a particular feature on her head made her easily recognizable, and for an uproar to start.

xxx

The Ministry of Magic, Romania...

'This girl is the missing Leila Potter? Then what the bloody hell is she doing in Romanian Forests like a jungle girl?'

'We got no idea, we just found her wearing skins and that long hair hid most of her face! How should we know?'

'The British sure has a lousy job taking care of their girl-who-lived...so after saving their asses from Voldemort they threw her out? Tsk tsk tsk...the Minister's gonna have a cow and so is the ICW when they get wind of this! How's the girl?'

'According to Healer Peterson, she's physically fit and strong, but she has a bad case of intestinal parasites that they took care of, as well as dental problems they fixed. Otherwise she's healthy and learning how to stand and walk upright on rehab. She refuses to eat food we're used to, and only eats fruits and meats she recognizes. She's now enjoying the feeling of a soft bed and rolling on her bed nonstop.' said another person wryly. 'Poor kid never knew what a soft bed is like. And we should keep our animals away or she'll go kill them for their skins even if she's wearing a hospital robe.'

'Really now?'

'Really.'

'Get that girl's memories for the ICW Meeting. We need to know what the kid went through.'

Needless to say, a scandal rocked the Wizarding World in the ICW Meeting with Britain under fire for what they've done to Leila Potter and nobody in the ICW believed Albus Dumbledore, the British ICW Member and Supreme Mugwump as according to Leila Potter's memories, she was in the forests for as long as she remembers since infancy.

The Dursleys were heavily interrogated to reveal that none of them wanted 'the freak' in their 'proudly normal home', so Vernon had flown to Romania and left her there for dead. For Albus Dumbledore to leave their savior to such horrible people and his poor judgment of their character, he became an international disgrace and the Dursleys facing charges for inhumane cruelty to their own niece. A poor way to repay a girl whose family was lost and whose accidental magic as a child saved their country from the terrorist Lord Voldemort.

A new Supreme Mugwump was elected and Britain was forbidden anything to do with the Girl-Who-Lived-and-Survived. If any British came near her, they will be arrested immediately as they no longer have rights over her and Romania has custody of her. But the recently exonerated Sirius Black fought for his rights as Godfather and he was unjustly in prison for thirteen years until he cleared himself by exposing the real Potter Family Traitor, Peter Pettigrew. He wanted to make it up to her as family. He won due to his case that wasn't really his fault and was the only exception and the only British allowed near her as she is the ward of Magical Romanian State.

Thus Britain has another black record.

Throwing a man to prison without thorough investigation and a trial? Really? And letting bribery run amuck?

xxx

Sirius Black was in the hospital, watching his goddaughter do rehabilitation to get used to walking upright.

'Is that her, Minister?' Sirius asked the Romanian Minister softly in a heartbroken voice. His goddaughter lived the life of a Feral Jungle Girl for thirteen years all alone with no idea what to do, and became an animal in mind.

'That's her. We won't know who she is if not for Charlie Weasley.' said the Minister. 'That scar of hers is pretty famous in Britain. You have custody of her as her last decent relative as per wills of her parents. After she learns how to walk upright in here, she's free to go for education.'

Sirius Black is a frequent visitor thus.


End file.
